Somebody Else and the Sorcerer's Stone
by superfluffball
Summary: Harry Potter is the chosen one. The boy who lived. It was written in the prophecy that he would be the one to defeat Voldemort. But what if it was just a coincidence? Can another rise to the occasion?
1. The Mysterious Letter

Chapter 1: The Mysterious Letter

Bhaavya chewed her lunch intently. As always, she was eating on the floor in front of the auditorium. She had few friends, so she spent her lunch period reading instead of socializing. Suddenly, Bhaavya slammed her novel shut and opened her backpack. Retrieving the letter that she had received the night before, she pondered the meaning of such an invitation. The absurdity of the note made her figure that a particularly mischievous friend was playing a prank on her. Smirking slightly, Bhaavya decided that she would play along with the joke, just for fun. She had always wanted to go to London anyway.

Thinking back to the day before, Bhaavya remembered the moment when she had first read the letter. Her younger sister hardly ever got mail, but everyday she brought it in from the mailbox anyway, always hopeful that she would finally get something. Bhaavya, too, rarely got any mail, but she did not care very much about it, so when her little sister came stomping into her room, complaining about how unfair it was for Bhaavya to get mail, while she was the one always expecting something, Bhaavya just shrugged it off as her little sister being weird.

"Hmmph! Why do you always get mail and I don't?" Her little sister whined, barging into Bhaavya's room. She plopped down next to Bhaavya on the bed, still clutching the envelope.

"Um… but I never get mail," Bhaavya sighed, "sisters are so annoying!"

"You do realize that you're a sister too, right?" The younger sister rolled her eyes, "You know what? Fine. Next time you get something in the mail, I'm not giving it to you!" She left, flinging Bhaavya's mail on the ground and muttering about how strange her older sister was.

Bhaavya moved to retrieve the flung letter, and as she picked it up, she noticed a strange purple wax seal holding it shut. She was able to distinguish four shapes from the intricate seal that were perhaps animals, but too difficult to for her to see. Huffing, Bhaavya knew that she needed a stronger prescription for glasses. As she smiled at the sealed envelope, she felt oddly excited to have received something in the mail. She understood her sister just a bit more at that one moment. After spending about ten minutes just smiling eerily at the envelope, Bhaavya finally decided to open it to find out what was inside. Ripping off the purple wax thing, she pulled several pieces of paper out.

"Parchment?" Bhaavya questioned out loud, "It's written on parchment?" She spread the several pieces of parchment out on her bed so that they were all facing up for her viewing pleasure. Taking a moment to survey them all, she picked up the one that she decided would tell her all she needed to know. The top of the paper said, "Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," and underneath, there seemed to be a strange list of school supplies. She realized that they were magical school supplies, to go along with the heading of the paper. She giggled, wondering who would go to such trouble to try and fool her into believing such a thing existed. As an avid reader, Bhaavya recalled reading fantasy books and actually believing in the magic as a young child, but as a high schooler, she was way past such immature behavior. But bothering to age the paper to the perfect shade of yellow, making up the nonsense books and equipment on the list, she could not believe that any normal person would go to all that effort…

"Oh," Bhaavya cracked up spontaneously, "I get it now. It's all an elaborate prank. A giant would-be hoax. But I get it now." Narrowing her eyes, Bhaavya pictured each one of her few friends in her mind, trying to think of the one responsible for the letter. She could easily think of several that were devious enough to try something like this, but it was stupid to think of this now. Stacking the papers, she put them to the side. It was nearing 11 o'clock at night, and Bhaavya realized that she had just wasted a lot of time. She had studying to do for her final exams. She was finishing up ninth grade in the United States, and then she would stay for tenth grade too, before heading off to yet another country. It was June of her ninth grade year, and her departure seemed to be imminent, but suddenly she had an idea.

"Ha. Wouldn't it be funny, ha, if I were to go to school in England next year?" Bhaavya giggled between words. At the moment, Bhaavya was definitely enticed to turn the joke back on the perpetrator.

"Shut up! Why are you even talking to yourself? I know there's no one else in there, it's so late at night! I'm trying to sleep!" Her little sister's voiced boomed from the other room.

"I'm, uh, talking on the phone!"

It was then that she decided to whisper softly to herself, "I'll retaliate with a prank of my own, by making the person responsible for this prank think that I actually fell for her prank, while really the joke is on her!" Bhaavya kept her evil laughter to herself for the time being. She would have time for silly things like that after she enacted her revenge prank. All thoughts of finals and school work vanished as she thought about how she would get to London to go this "Diagon Alley" and how she could present it to her parents to get their approval.

The sound of the school bell ringing, signaling the end of lunch, shocked Bhaavya out of her reverie. Looking down at her unfinished lunch, she frowned and refolded the letter inviting her to Hogwarts, carefully sliding it into its envelope. She wondered how she could have possibly been so engrossed in her recollection of the night before that she completely missed the clean up bell that rang five minutes before lunch ended. Packing up her backpack and shoving the rest of her lunch in her mouth, Bhaavya grumbled at the thought of the three more periods before the start of the weekend, as she made her way to fifth period.

Bhaavya shot out of her seat as soon as the final bell of the day rang. Darting past and weaving through the mass of students charging for the exits, Bhaavya was the first one to board her bus. As per usual, she sat alone, and when her bus stopped in front of her house, she darted off as quickly as she could. She was almost bursting when she got to the front door of her house. After retrieving her key from her bag and unlocking the door, she flew into her house, blurting, "Mamma, papa, I want to go to school in England for next school year!" Her announcement was met with silence, and Bhaavya both mentally and physically slapped herself on the forehead. She had known that her parents would not be home yet, and her little sister was still at school. She grinned broadly at that, taking solace in the fact that she was at home doing absolutely nothing, while her sister was still doing school work at middle school. Yawning, she made her way upstairs to her room, where she could take a nice nap.

Hours later, Bhaavya was woken up by the sound of the garage door opening. She tiredly pulled herself out of bed, and went downstairs, where her younger sister was watching cartoons at a low volume. "Thanks for putting the TV on low," Bhaavya acknowledged her sister's considerateness.

"Shhhhhh! I'm trying to watch TV!" The younger girl glared at her older sister, "I was quiet for you!"

Their dad chose that moment to walk into the living room, smiling at his daughters' antics, "Girls! Behave!" Their mother soon followed him into the room, and the entire family was united in one room. Bhaavya realized that this was the perfect time to tell her family about her plans for the following school year and ask for permission, but she was still fairly nervous.

She finally decided that it would be best to get it over with as soon as possible, so she said, "I want to go to school in England next summer."

Her family's eyes bulged out in shock, and the living room was suddenly eerily quiet. Her father was the first to recover, "Why?"

"I have been invited to a prestigious magic school!"

Her father blinked several times and scratched his head, "And you believe in magic?"

"No. It's obviously not real magic. It's obviously just the kind of magic that you can see in magic shows. I think that it would be fun and a good experience!"

Looking into her family's faces, Bhaavya could understand their disbelief at her words. She knew that she sounded crazy, and she honestly did not believe in magic. Giving her father the Hogwarts letter, she started again, trying to gain some ground, "Look at this letter! It's the real deal. School starts on September first, and I can stay with grandma in London before I go off to school. That's where the special shopping area where I have to buy my supplies is anyway. So, can I go?" She stared deeply into her father's eyes. Her mother and sister had been quiet through the entire discussion, so Bhaavya knew that he would be the one to make the final decision. By gazing into his eyes, she could tell that this was going to be the turning point in her life, where her father would either say yes, and let his eldest daughter go on a grand adventure, or say no, and ship her off to an insane asylum because she sounded crazy.


	2. Almost at Diagon Alley

Chapter 2: Almost at Diagon Alley

Bhaavya watched as her father's mouth opened as if in slow motion. His mouth was opening very sluggishly, and the three women in the living room were staring at it in anticipation, which quickly turned into disdain as it became apparent that he was in no hurry to answer Bhaavya's query. When his mouth finally opened, he closed it again, and soon he was opening and closing his mouth again and again like a fish out of water. At last, the youngest of the three women could not take it any longer. "Are you serious? Just answer her already! I say good riddance!" Bhaavya's younger sister declared.

The man of the house merely shook his head to clear his thoughts. After taking a few moments to clear his head, he had recovered enough to speak, "I agree with you, Bhaavya. It will be a good learning experience for you to make at least one poor, major decision in your life. Let us hope that this is the only one. I give you permission to go to this magic school, but you must write me everyday!"

Having been silent through the duration of the conversation, Bhaavya's mother took this opportunity to gape and say, "Now, I know that you cannot be serious! My husband would never make such a rash decision. We should talk this over carefully before there are any decisions made."

Bhaavya turned to her father, who was sure to have some response to that. She watched as he shook his head, emphatically, "You do not understand now, but soon you will. This is the best choice for young Bhaavya."

The exchange was over now, which Bhaavya understood, so she nodded to her father and left the room. As she walked up the stairs, she could hear the soft voice of her younger sister question, "Can I have her room when she leaves?" Bhaavya smiled at this, knowing that her sister was trying to break the tension in the living room, or maybe her reasons really were just selfish, and she wanted Bhaavya's room to have more space for her toys.

It was mid-August, August fifteenth to be exact, and Bhaavya felt butterflies in the pit of her stomach. Her flight to London was leaving in four hours, and she was putting the finishing touches on her packing, adding a few things at the last minute that she decided she would need. Her many novels, which she knew that she could not live without, proved too much for one suitcase, so she started packing another one, solely devoted to her books. She then moved over to her essentials suitcase where she had packed everything that her dad had told her to, such as clothes and toiletries, and checked each item over to make sure she had everything.

At that point her father came in, agitated, "Bhaavya! I told you to bring your suitcase downstairs a half hour ago! You're going to miss the plane!" He took one good look at her room and became furious, "I told you many times! You can only bring one suitcase and one carry-on. Choose one suitcase to bring, and we will be on our way!"

Bhaavya made a move toward her suitcase filled with books, angry at her father, "I choose this one then."

Her father went other to the suitcase and peered inside, "This suitcase only has books inside! Okay, I will bring the other suitcase down for you, and you may pick two books out to bring in your carry-on. I am sure that you will be able to buy more books in London, besides, you will need room in your suitcase for all of your school supplies!" Bhaavya conceded to his point, knowing that her school supplies list included several books. The main question was whether or not the books actually existed. Never before had she gone anywhere without her trusty books. She shuddered as she picked out her three favorite books for the voyage. Her father would never notice that she had taken one extra book from her collection.

Bhaavya was still nervous about the impending plane flight, having never flown by herself before, but she decided to put her brave face on throughout the car ride to the airport. She and her sister sat in the backseat playing games, while her father drove and her mother sat in the passenger seat. Even after two months, her mother was still against her going to school in England, but the whole family was going to the airport to see Bhaavya off, so she had come too. After about an hour, they arrived at Dulles International Airport, and Bhaavya checked her luggage at the check-in counter. As she neared the front of the security line, she felt a sense of dread at having to be separated from her parents for an entire year. As if sensing her thoughts, her mother pulled her aside and said, "You have to come back here for every school vacation. I will miss you a lot."

"Thanks, mamma! I completely forgot about school vacation. Of course I will come home!" Bhaavya moved in to hug her mother, wrapping her arms around her tightly. This was farewell for at least several months until the school let out for Christmas holiday, so Bhaavya had to savor her last few minutes with her family.

Her mother leaned in to Bhaavya's ear and whispered, "If you ever get homesick, or you do not like the school, tell me, and I will come get you." At that, they moved back to where the rest of the family was standing at the front of the security line. There was only one person in front of them in line.

"It is time for us to go," Bhaavya's father motioned to his wife and youngest daughter, "Good bye, Bhaavya." He looked like he was about to cry, and Bhaavya understood that he would miss her a lot too.

"Bye, papa. Bye, Mamma. Bye, Suramya." Bhaavya burst into tears suddenly. She did not want to go by herself to another country, but then she felt a small body latch itself onto her. Looking down, she saw the top of her younger sister's head, and Bhaavya reciprocated the hug. Feeling cheered up after her sister's hug, Bhaavya smiled and waved goodbye to her family.

The flight went by more quickly than Bhaavya had expected. Spending much of the flight reading her book or sleeping, it did not feel long to Bhaavya before the pilot's voice came over the intercom, announcing that it was time to land. Pushing her seat back into an upright position and buckling her seatbelt, Bhaavya prepared for the landing. She looked out the window and saw the beautiful landscape below come into view as the plane dipped below the clouds. Finally, Bhaavya was arriving in London.

As she exited London Heathrow Airport with her grandmother, Bhaavya was relieved to breathe fresh air again. The plane had felt stuffy, and the airport had been too packed to allow a person to breathe. Bhaavya followed her grandmother to a taxi and got into the back seat, next to the elderly woman. Bhaavya gave a sidelong glance to her grandmother and decided to initiate the conversation. "It's good to see you again," Bhaavya's grandmother said, beating her to it; "It's been too long. So, what made you decide to transfer to a school here in the U.K.?"

"Well, I received an invitation from a school," Bhaavya replied, "It wasn't completely spontaneous."

"That's good," her grandmother responded, and then silence engulfed the car as neither spoke for the rest of the ride, the taxi driver seemingly concentrating quite hard on the road. This suited Bhaavya just fine as she was able to stare out the window and absorb the London scenery as it passed by her window. Soon, they arrived at a high rise apartment building, which Bhaavya deduced held her grandmother's apartment, seeing as they stopped directly in front of it.

"Take your bags and follow me," her grandmother said, "my flat is on the fifth floor."

"Okay," Bhaavya said, hoisting her backpack onto her shoulder and retrieving her suitcase. She was still weighed down very much by her heavy bags, even without the many books that she was now glad were still in the U.S.

Bhaavya's grandmother spent the next week or so showing her London's tourist attractions. During their sightseeing excursions, Bhaavya was able to see the Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, and other great sights. Her previous qualms behind her, Bhaavya enjoyed everything about London, so she decided to buy a postcard to send to her family back at home, along with a souvenir for herself. Of course, as the end of August approached, Bhaavya soon realized that she desperately needed to get ready for the start of school. As she realized this, Bhaavya also realized that if this Hogwarts really did not exist, then she had no plans for the coming school year, and she most definitely did not believe that Hogwarts existed. Suddenly depressed, Bhaavya came to the conclusion that the only thing she could do was go to Diagon Alley, if that really existed, and ask people there about Hogwarts. If Hogwarts really was not real, then Bhaavya would have to call her mom and say that she was homesick. Then, she could go to school in the U.S. for another year before she would have to leave anyway.

"Grandma, I'm going out to buy school supplies!" Bhaavya shouted. Somehow, she knew that it would be best not to take her grandmother with her to Diagon Alley, even if it really did exist. After grabbing her wallet, which was full of pounds, having converted her dollars to the English currency, Bhaavya left the apartment. Grinning, Bhaavya thought about how disapproving her father would be if he knew that his daughter was traversing the streets of London on her own.

According to the letter, an establishment called the Leaky Cauldron housed the entrance to Diagon Alley. As she walked, Bhaavya recognized that although she was not at all familiar with the streets of London and had no idea where the Leaky Cauldron was located, for reasons she could not discern, her feet knew where to take her. After a while, she stopped in front of an old, shabby looking pub, which she determined to be her destination. Never having been to a pub before, Bhaavya had no idea what to expect as she placed her hand on the door knob.


	3. Wizard School Supplies

Chapter 3: Wizard School Supplies

As she entered the Leaky Cauldron, Bhaavya was taken aback by its inner appearance. The pub was dim and dingy, with shady characters dressed in dark cloaks lurking around in the corners, drinking alcohol. Shivering out of fear, Bhaavya inched farther into pub only hesitantly. She decided that it would be best to ask the bartender for directions, but as she made her way over to the counter, she saw him flash a toothless grin at another patron. Intense chills overtook Bhaavya's body in that instant. Toothless old men had always given her the creeps. She ignored the every fiber of her being that was telling her to run away and headed towards the counter, still determined to find Diagon Alley. Bhaavya was almost to the counter when, suddenly, she screeched, "Eeeek!" Before her, there stood a strange being, about three feet tall, with enormous eyes and large, pointy ears. Oddly enough, it wore oval glasses, further accentuating the size of its eyes.

"Good day! Wing-Mei's name is Wing-Mei! It's nice to meet you," The thing announced. Surprisingly to Bhaavya, it could speak, and with a squeaky British accent at that.

It seemed rather friendly, but Bhaavya was too frightened by its appearance to respond with anything other than another screech, "Eeek!"

Wing-Mei's eyes widened, "Oh, come on, Miss. You are acting like you have never seen a house-elf before."

It was official. Bhaavya's childhood belief that magic really did exist had just been renewed. She surmised that a house-elf was some sort of magical being, since she was sure that it was not human. Crinkling her eyebrows, Bhaavya turned back to the house elf and asked, "So, what exactly is a house-elf?"

"Well, Miss, Wing-Mei is a house-elf. House-elves serve wizard kind, Miss, and Wing-Mei works at Hogwarts, in the kitchens."

This sparked Bhaavya's interest immensely, "Did you say Hogwarts? I was invited to go to school at Hogwarts starting this year!"

"Yes, Miss, and is Wing-Mei correct to assume that Miss is a muggle-born, that is to say, from a non-wizarding family? Wing-Mei can help you buy school supplies!"

"That would be great, especially since I have no idea where Diagon Alley is. I am from a non-wizarding family." Bhaavya responded gratefully, but then bluntly inquired, "So, are you a boy or girl house-elf?"

"Wing-Mei is a girl house-elf, Miss. Well, follow Wing-Mei to Diagon Alley!" Abruptly, but not without warning, Wing-Mei set off towards the back of the pub, Bhaavya following closely at her heels. The two of them went through a door at the far end of the pub and arrived at a small courtyard, surrounded on three sides by a brick wall. Bhaavya looked around, expecting to see a door, but there did not seem to be anything on any side other than solid brick. Rolling her eyes, Bhaavya strolled over to the wall opposite her and poked it.

"I suppose that this is a magic brick wall. Am I right?" Bhaavya murmured sarcastically.

Apparently, those large, pointed ears were good for something because Wing-Mei heard and said, "Yes, Miss, of course it's magic. Wing-Mei would have apparated with you, but Wing-Mei thought that you might get sick that way. Watch!" The house-elf disappeared with resounding pop and reappeared behind Bhaavya. Bhaavya whipped around, stunned. The house-elf smiled, and then walked back over to the wall where she began tapping seemingly random bricks with her finger. Bhaavya watched as the wall followed outward, opening an entranceway. Wing-Mei led Bhaavya through the entrance, and when she glimpsed Diagon Alley for the first time, Bhaavya's jaw dropped precipitously.

The alley looked like a pedestrian shopping street, but instead of normal shoppers, it was bustling with oddly dressed people, either sporting rather mismatched, but otherwise normal clothes, or strange robes. Although they were items on her school list, Bhaavya could never picture herself wearing a robe or a witch's hat, other than as a costume. Smiling to herself, Bhaavya thought about how just ten minutes earlier, she had not believed in magic at all. As she looked around the street, she noticed shops selling such oddities as broomsticks, potions, cauldrons, and wands, and she wondered how this whole world had been hidden from her for her entire life up until that point.

"Miss, are you okay?" Wing-Mei poked Bhaavya's leg sharply, bringing her out of her thoughts.

"Huh? Yes, I'm fine. Where should we go first?" Bhaavya felt truly overwhelmed by all of her new experiences that had occurred just in that one day. She was talking to a creature that she would have thought existed just in nightmares or creepy movies. But Wing-Mei seemed nice enough, so Bhaavya finally felt sufficiently comfortable to share a bit about herself with house-elf, "Oh and by the way, my name is Bhaavya."

"Miss Bhaavya, Wing-Mei thinks that it would be best to go first to Gringotts!" After Bhaavya's blank expression, Wing-Mei added, "The wizarding bank, Miss. You must convert your money before you can buy anything." This was reasonable, so Bhaavya followed the house-elf down the alley way until they reached what looked to be a normal bank. Tall and marble white, the building appeared to be a standard bank, but as her eyes fell to the entrance, Bhaavya was disgusted to see that there, standing guard, was a hideous creature that made Wing-Mei look like a beauty queen. At around Wing-Mei's height, it also had pointy ears, but its beady eyes, hooked nose, and pasty skin made it look even more frightening. Bhaavya screeched yet again and moved back in fear.

Wing-Mei looked pityingly at the frightened girl and tried to be supportive, "Miss, don't be so afraid now. Goblins aren't nearly as ugly as trolls. So Miss is lucky that she is going to a bank owned by goblins and not trolls. Goblins are the best in the business too!" It seemed that her words had fallen a bit short of being comforting, as Bhaavya shuddered violently in reaction.

"Here," Bhaavya said, shoving her wallet into tiny Wing-Mei's hands, "Take my money and exchange it for me. I'll wait down the street." Her trust for the house-elf that she had met only a short while ago far exceeded any inclination she had to go into a bank run by repulsive goblins. Not waiting to hear Wing-Mei's answer to her request, Bhaavya darted away to locate a nook where she would no longer be able to see the goblin standing guard. She ended up resting on a bench in front of Ollivanders, a wand shop. Soon after, Wing-Mei headed towards her, skipping and holding a jingling bag. She tossed the bag over to Bhaavya, but she misjudged the distance and it soared straight into Bhaavya's face.

"Sorry," Wing-Mei squeaked, embarrassed, "Wing-Mei didn't mean to throw the bag of coins at Miss Bhaavya's face."

"It's okay," Bhaavya said, "Why don't we go to Ollivanders first, since were right here?" The two of them walked into the wand shop. It was a cluttered room, filled with stacks of thin boxes, holding wands inside. Bhaavya reached for one of the boxes when a thin, boney hand grabbed her wrist suddenly. Startled, Bhaavya retracted her hand, and the boney hand followed suit.

"So," The hand's owner, an elderly man with silver eyes, said, "that was your wand arm? Your right arm? What is your name, young lady?"

"I am right handed and my name is Bhaavya…" A tape measure zoomed around, measuring her entire body.

"Never touch my wand boxes. The right wand will come to you. You cannot just pick one out from a pile! I am Mr. Ollivander. I will find a wand for you. Don't touch anything before I come back!" The old man fixed one last steely look on Bhaavya, before disappearing behind a stack of wand boxes. He returned with several slim boxes. He daintily removed one wand from its box and handed it to Bhaavya.

"Maple and unicorn hair. Eight inches. Just try waving it."

Bhaavya did as she was told and was highly disappointed when nothing happened. Mr. Ollivander merely plucked the wand out of her hand and placed another in it instead. After this process was repeated several times, Bhaavya was starting to get bored and she was beginning to doubt that she was magical. The old man gave her yet another wand to try.

"Vine and phoenix feather, nine inches, flexible. Don't look so sad. This could be the one!"

Rolling her eyes at his optimism, Bhaavya waved the wand lazy, not expecting anything to occur. She was about to stop waving it, when she heard Wing-Mei. Bhaavya looked over at the house-elf and saw that purple sparks had engulfed her. Grinning joyfully, Bhaavya turned her gazed towards Mr. Ollivander, who smiled and declared, "That wand has chosen you! Okay, that'll be seven Galleons!" He held out his hand, palm open and then clarified, "The large, gold coins." Bhaavya picked out seven of the biggest coins from her sack, handing them to him.

Bhaavya followed Wing-Mei back onto the street. They stopped at Madam Malkin's, so Bhaavya could purchase the school uniform. She stood on a stool, wearing a robe, while Madam Malkin tailored it for her.

Madam Malkin decided to make small talk as she fitted Bhaavya's robe, "Young lady, you seem rather old for a first year, and yet I've never seen you around here. What year are you going into?"

"I am going to be a first year," Bhaavya replied, a bit offended, "Do I really look that old?"

"Well, you do look a bit older than eleven, that's all I'm saying."

This confused Bhaavya quite a lot, and as she left the robe shop, she turned to Wing-Mei for answers, "What was that about? Is the average first year really eleven? I am fourteen years old!"

The house-elf seemed equally puzzled, "Wing-Mei thought that Miss Bhaavya was younger than that… Wing-Mei has only ever heard of first years being eleven! There are seven years, and always, the first years are eleven, while the seventh years are seventeen. Maybe you are meant to be in fourth year?"

Bhaavya shook her head, "No, I have never learned magic before."

Tilting her head, Wing-Mei appeared to be deep in thought, "Maybe Wing-Mei is mistaken…" They just stood there, looking at each other, for a couple minutes until Bhaavya decided to walk into the cauldron shop, which was marked by a large sign and the many cauldrons strewn on the ground in front. She got the supplies that she needed from there, and then she and Wing-Mei headed to the Apothecary. There, they bought potion ingredients in a hurry, so they could leave to escape the horrible stench of the place.

Bhaavya was delighted when Wing-Mei took her to Flourish and Blotts to get the last required items on her supply list: books. Reveling in the sheer amount of books surrounding her, Bhaavya felt an urge to buy as many as possible, but she reasoned with herself that it would be too heavy. As she gazed longingly at the shelves of books, she missed a set of footprints approach from behind.

"It's magnificent isn't it? Too bad they don't sell manga, right?" Someone said from behind Bhaavya. It was a girl's voice, with a strong Korean accent. Bhaavya turned around and saw that the girl was about her height and age, wore a blue and silver striped shirt, and carried a brown broomstick with silver accents in her hand. The girl caught her staring at it, "It's the Nimbus 2000, the fastest, sleekest, coolest broom out there!"

Bhaavya just frowned at the girl, "I don't read manga, and why are you holding a broom, are you a maid?"

"Oh no! Did you just insult manga and my awesome broomstick?" The girl narrowed her eyes at Bhaavya.

"Sorry! It's just that I prefer reading novels, and I don't understand why you are carrying a broom around."

"Well, for Quidditch, obviously."

"Quidditch? What's that?"

The girl gasped, audibly, announcing, "It's only the most important thing in the world, after manga! It's the most popular sport in the wizarding world, and it's played on broomsticks. I just happen to be the star Ravenclaw seeker." Bhaavya merely bobbed her head, pretending to understand what the girl was talking about, although she had no idea what Ravenclaw or seeker meant.

"That's great!" Bhaavya said, enthusiastically. After all, the other girl seemed pretty proud of being the Ravenclaw seeker.

"I'm Juhee, by the way. I'm a fifth year Ravenclaw, but I've never seen you around at Hogwarts. What year are you in, and what house? Or are you a random muggle that wandered in here?" Juhee narrowed her eyes, suspiciously, "I mean everyone knows what Quidditch is!"

Bhaaavya thought back to what Wing-Mei had told her about muggle-born meaning from a non-wizarding family, and concluded that muggle meant non-wizard. "My name is Bhaavya, and I am a muggle-born starting at Hogwarts this year, so I don't know anything at all about the wizarding world."

"Oh. I can tell you more if you want! Wait, what year are you going…"

Wing-Mei chose that moment to saunter over to the two girls, "Wing-Mei thinks that it is time for you to go home, Miss. It is getting late."

Bhaavya looked at Juhee awkwardly, "I guess I'll see you at Hogwarts, Juhee. Good bye."

"Bye bye!"

Bhaavya left the book store with Wing-Mei after paying for her school books. Wing-Mei cleared her throat, "Good evening! Wing-Mei will see Miss Bhaavya again at Hogwarts. Professor Dumbledore will be happy to hear that Wing-Mei successfully helped Miss Bhaavya get her school supplies."

"Wait! You were sent to help me shop for school supplies? So you knew who I was before?"

Wing-Mei disappeared with a pop, and this time, Bhaavya knew that she had disapparated.


	4. To Hogwarts

Chapter 4- To Hogwarts

Bhaavya's grandmother looked on, very regretfully, as Bhaavya loaded her bright red suitcase into the back of a taxi. "Are you sure that you okay going to the train station alone?" she asked one last time, "I would like to see you off from the train station."

"I will be fine. It isn't necessary for you to travel with me all the way to King's Cross. Good bye!" Bhaavya tried to reassure her grandmother. Bhaavya shut the trunk door tightly and walked around the taxi, back to where her grandmother was standing.

"Have a good time at school! Don't forget to write!" Bhaavya's grandmother rushed over to give her a farewell hug, "I enjoyed your visit. It was nice having a young person stay with me again." She smiled fondly at her granddaughter and gestured over to the taxi, where the driver had just opened the door to the backseat for Bhaavya. With one last good bye aimed at her grandmother, Bhaavya slid her backpack into the backseat of the taxi and climbed in after it. The taxi driver closed the door behind her, then went back to his seat and started the engine. As they drove off, Bhaavya glanced back at the apartment, now behind her, where her grandmother was waving pleasantly from the sidewalk. Bhaavya sighed in relief, glad that her beloved grandmother had not dwelled too long on the disappointment of not coming with her to the train station to see her off.

Bhaavya honestly would have liked to bring her grandmother with her, but she had her grandmother's best interests at heart. It was for her benefit that Bhaavya was sparing her from the strange, magical world that she herself had discovered just a week earlier, in Diagon Alley. Bhaavya had thought about how shocked she was by the quite unexpected experience that she had undergone, and had worried that there would be something equally astonishing at the train station where a train full of wizard adolescents would be departing from. She most definitely did not want her grandmother to have a heart attack on her watch.

Pulling one of her books out from her backpack, Bhaavya shifted in her seat to get in a more comfortable position. There was a ton of traffic on the road, so she wanted to occupy herself during the ride. It worked well, and before she knew it, the taxi had pulled up outside King's Cross station. Bhaavya, deeply engrossed in her book, literally did not know that she had arrived at the train station. The taxi driver looked into the rear view mirror and saw that she had not noticed their arrival, so he drove around the block once more to keep the meter running. After they arrived for the second time, the driver exited the taxi, went to the trunk and hoisted Bhaavya's suitcase out, and then went over to her door and opened it for her.

"Young lady, this is the train station," the driver informed Bhaavya.

Startled, Bhaavya looked up from her book, and saw that they had indeed arrived at King's Cross. She pulled her backpack and herself out of the taxi, then reached into her wallet and pulled out the amount of money indicated on the meter, handing it to the driver. He nodded in thanks and went back to his taxi, as she headed towards the entrance of King's Cross.

The day before, when she was reading over the information on the train ride that we take her to school, Bhaavya realized that the letter specifically said that the train would be departing from platform 9¾. Something made her believe that this was not in fact a misprint, but the actual location where she would have to go to catch the train. She decided that when she got to King's Cross, she would look for a magic brick wall in order to access the mysterious platform. As she entered the station, Bhaavya looked around for a viable brick wall. Having just passed platform nine and now approaching platform ten, Bhaavya spotted it - the barrier between the two platforms. It was indeed made out of brick, which definitely raised the chances of it being the entrance of platform 9¾. Also, Bhaavya had just seen a little redheaded boy disappear through that same solid brick barrier.

Bhaavya rolled her suitcase behind her as she headed over to the barrier between platforms nine and ten. She decided that when she got to the barrier, she would lean nonchalantly against it in order to get to platform 9¾ without attracting attention. Her plan fell to pieces when, just as she was about to get to the barrier, her shoe lace became undone, and she tripped, falling forward. Bhaavya ended up sprawled painfully face down on the cold, hard floor. Moaning out of pain and discomfort, Bhaavya felt two hands grab her and hoist her to her feet, and when she looked up at her helper, she came face to face with the girl from the book store, Juhee.

"Wow. You sure know how to make an entrance, don't you?" Juhee said teasingly.

"What if I was seriously injured, then would you regret making fun of me?" Bhaavya responded.

"If I said yes, would you sit with me on the train? I am a prefect, so it is my job to guide and help other students."

"Thanks for helping me get up, and I accept your offer. I have no one else to sit with anyway."

"No. You just want to sit with me because I am so awesome!"

"Yes of course." Bhaavya looked around, a bit perplexed. There seemed to be a large mass of oddly dressed people standing around and there was a scarlet steam engine on the tracks that she hadn't noticed before. "Wait… Is this platform 9¾?"

"Yes, and the red choo choo train over there is the Hogwarts Express!"

Bhaavya rolled her eyes and bent down to pick up the handle of her bright red suitcase. As she did so, Juhee gave her a weird look. "Is that a muggle suitcase? It is very… colorful, but everyone at Hogwarts uses trunks, plain trunks. That suitcase will be very out of place." Juhee eyed said suitcase once more, "I like it!"

Bhaavya gave her suitcase a hurt look, as if it had betrayed her or done her a grave injustice. "B-but that wasn't on the supply list!" She wanted to fit in as best as possible at her new school, so she was pretty annoyed at her suitcase.

Juhee giggled, "Don't be so mean to Suitcase! I said I like it. It goes well with Backpack anyway!" Bhaavya looked over her shoulder at the backpack she was wearing, which happened to have a nice medium blue color.

"Why don't we just go on the train already?" Bhaavya asked, tired of being called out on her bags.

"Fine. Follow me!" Juhee grabbed her own trunk and led the way onto the train. They peered into every compartment they passed, but the train was starting to fill up. They passed by most of the compartments, finding them to be fully occupied. Finally, they stopped at a compartment near the back of the train. There was also someone sitting in this compartment, a girl, tan-skinned, tall and skinny with long black hair and hazel eyes, but there was enough space for more people. The girl smiled and waved at the two newcomers.

"Hi, Juhee! How was your summer?" She asked, amicably.

"It was great. You?" Juhee replied.

"It was epic!" The girl then turned to Bhaavya, "My name is Tvara. I'm a Hufflepuff fourth year! What about you?"

Bhaavya appreciated Tvara's friendly mannerisms, "I'm Bhaavya. I'm new here, and I do not know what Hufflepuff is."

"Oh! So you're a first year. Well each student is sorted into a house when they first get to Hogwarts. I'll give you the low down – Hufflepuff is for cool people, Ravenclaw is for nerds, Gryffindor is for the reckless, and Slytherin is for meanies!" Tvara concluded with gusto.

Juhee nodded with agreement from next to Bhaavya. "That's almost correct, but I would say that Ravenclaw is for super-geniuses, and Hufflepuff is for losers."

"Heyyyyyyyyyyy!" Tvara whined.

Juhee laughed maniacally, and turned to Bhaavya, "Tvara is loser, but you can sit in here with her. I have to go to a prefect meeting and then patrol the train. I'll be back later though!" Juhee darted out of the compartment, waving, "Bye."

Sitting down opposite Tvara, Bhaavya looked at her awkwardly for a few moments, as if waiting for her to initiate the conversation. As they sat in silence, the train started moving, and the landscape was zooming by outside the window. Bhaavya's wish came true when Tvara became bored of the silence and declared, "I hate awkward silences!"

Bhaavya chuckled and replied, "I think of silences as more peaceful than awkward."

"Well, when you put it like that, it sounds better. Are you looking forward to Hogwarts?"

Bhaavya contemplated the question, before answering, "I don't really know what to expect, so I can't really say. Will you tell me some more about Hogwarts?" Just weeks ago, Bhaavya had not believed magic existed, let alone a school where it was taught, and so it had not occurred to her to be excited. Everything happening to her now was just all too surreal.

Tvara cocked an eyebrow before smiling, "Nope. I think that it's better for you to learn from experience, so I won't tell you anything, and you'll just have to figure it out when you get there. You'll be more surprised!" Leaning back into her seat and facing the new student, Tvara was really being lazy because there was so much about Hogwarts that she would have to share with Bhaavya, and she just did not feel like explaining it all.

Deciding that Tvara was annoying in addition to being good-natured, Bhaavya retrieved her book once more from her backpack and became engrossed once more in the text. Likewise, Tvara took a book out of her own bag. Looking over at the book, Bhaavya noted that it was a manga, and thinking back to her first encounter with Juhee in the bookstore, Bhaavya saw what the two girls had in common, and why they were friends. This also made her wonder what she had in common with Juhee or Tvara, but she could not think of anything, which she hoped was only because she did not know them well enough.

The door to the compartment opened, and a girl walked in. Both Bhaavya and Tvara looked up immediately, eagerly awaiting Juhee's return. After Bhaavya saw that the girl was not in fact Juhee, she went back to her book, and then she did a double take. The girl was carrying a large, tan owl, with large yellow eyes, a large purple toad was resting on her head, and small gray kitten was padding along next to her. Tvara, on the other hand, recognized the girl and greeted her accordingly, "Anna, how's it going?"

"Good. I had to leave Fred and George's compartment when they used a jinx to turn Vladimir purple," she petted the toad on her head passionately. "I also got a new kitten, but I haven't named him yet."

"Why not?" Tvara was confused. Anna had always taken pride in the way she gave her pets unique names as soon as she got them.

"My kitten doesn't like me!" Anna seemed on the verge of tears, "He won't even climb onto my lap when I'm sitting!" As she said this, the kitten was settling himself onto Bhaavya's lap, who was unconsciously petting him, even as she read her book. Anna looked fondly at her kitten, and seeing how comfortable he was with Bhaavya, a bittersweet idea came to her head. "I think you should keep the kitten," she said to Bhaavya. After all, she wanted the cat to be happy, even if it meant giving him up.

Bhaavya glanced up from her book, "Huh?"

"I already have two other pets, and I'm pretty sure that the school rules only allow you to have one pet. Also, he has really bonded to you! It's sweet!"

"Thanks. I had a dog back at home, so I have never had a cat before."

"I'm going to leave now! I came here just to show Tvara what those twins did to my precious toad! Good bye!" With that, Anna exited the compartment, leaving the small, gray kitten behind.

Bhaavya felt the kitten's soft fur beneath her fingertips, and she felt a bond with the cat as well. She grinned, "I think I'll name him Elephant!"

"Oh! Because he's gray?" Tvara asked. She did not understand why Bhaavya would want to give that name to such a cute and tiny animal. Moving over to the seat next to Bhaavya's, Tvara began petting Elephant.

"Yep, pretty much." Bhaavya thought about her fluffy, gray elephant stuffed animal, which regrettably, she was forced to leave at home. This cat would be a temporary replacement for her one true Elephanty! Knowing that she would have to write her parents as soon as she got to Hogwarts, Bhaavya realized that she could ask her parents to send her Elephanty.

As Bhaavya thought wistfully of her stuffed elephant, Juhee returned, announcing to the two other occupants of the compartment, "We're almost there! It is time to change into robes!" Juhee led the way by putting on her own robe, complete with a prefect badge and a house crest with the colors blue and bronze, denoting Ravenclaw. Tvara and Bhaavya followed suit, Tvara changing into her robes that had a black and yellow house crest, and Bhaavya changing into generic robes.

The Hogwarts Express pulled to a stop in front of a small platform, and all of the students, dressed in long, black robes, began filing out of the train. Bhaavya made to follow Juhee to a seemingly self-drawn carriage, but Tvara stopped her, "You have to go to Hagrid and take a boat across the lake with all of the other first years." She pointed towards a gigantic, hairy man surrounded by a large group of little eleven year olds. "He's a half-giant," she elaborated, "Don't be scared, just go over there."

Bhaavya hesitantly walked over to join the rest of the first years. To her delight, she was at least a couple inches taller than all of them. She basked in this delight for a few moments, before forcing herself to remember that they were all three years younger than her. As she sulked at the idea of having class with a bunch of little kids, the half-giant spoke, "All right, firs' years, follow me!" He led them down a dark, narrow path through woods, and as they emerged on the other side, Hogwarts came into view for the first time. It was a magnificent castle, on the top of a mountain. Many first years gasped when they first saw its beauty. An enormous lake blocked their way to the castle, dotted with little boats. Hagrid motioned for them to go over to the huge, dark lake, "Firs' years, get inta yer boats now, and be sure to keep your body in the boat. A giant squid lives in this lake." The young first years peered into the lake and shuddered in fear.

Bhaavya settled herself into a small boat, which was already occupied by two young girls, and soon the boat started to move of its own accord. She soon realized that it had been a mistake to choose a boat with girls in it, because immediately after they departed from the shore, the immature girls had begun squealing and screaming every time they thought that they saw movement under the water. Rubbing her forehead in annoyance, Bhaavya wished that she could have just gone with Tvara and Juhee up to the castle in a carriage. She understood that the having the first years travel in boats to Hogwarts was some sort of tradition or initiation rite, but being way older than the rest of the first years, Bhaavya felt that she could have been exempted from it. She wanted to spend the least amount of time possible with annoying, immature eleven year olds, like her sister.

The two eleven year old girls commenced their squealing again, as their boat approached a dark tunnel, its entrance covered by ivy. Emerging from the tunnel, they were now under the school, and after the boats docked, the children got out of the boats and followed Hagrid once more, up a flight of stairs that led them back outside, to the main doors, gigantic and made of oak. Even Hagrid could probably fit through the entranceway, and he was in fact able to, as he walked into the school, leaving the first years with a severe looking woman with black hair, who was wearing a pointed witch's hat.

"Welcome, first years! I am Professor McGonagall. The start-of-term feast will start right after you are sorted into houses. During your time here, you will sleep, eat, and attend classes with your house. If you behave well, you can earn points for your house, but if you misbehave, you can lose points and get detention. At the end of term, the house that has received the most points will win the house cup. Now, get into a line and follow me into the Great Hall for the sorting ceremony," she ordered with a harsh voice. All of the first years knew better than to not listen to such a strict person, so they followed her instructions without delay. The Great Hall was an enormous room, filled with hundreds of students seated at four long tables and one other table at the front, facing the students, where the teachers sat. One person first in front of Bhaavya in the line gasped loudly, pointing up at the ceiling, so she looked up too, and saw stars twinkling above, the ceiling looking like the night sky.

"It's enchanted," a bushy, brown-haired girl said from beside Bhaavya, "Isn't it so beautiful?" Bhaavya nodded and continued walking to the front of the Great Hall, presumably where they would be sorted. Professor McGonagall retrieved a stool and a large, pointed hat and placed in front of them. All of the older students that were already sitting at the tables stared intently at the hat, so the first years followed suit. After a while the hat seemed to shift, and a large tear opened up above its brim. To the surprise of the first years, the hat burst into song, the rip apparently being a mouth. Bhaavya tuned the hat's voice out, not appreciating the annoying, boring song it sang.

Soon, Bhaavya noticed that the crowd of first years around her had thinned tremendously. Looking around, she saw that they had already been sorted. It looked as though she had tuned out most of the sorting ceremony in addition to the sorting hat's singing. "Srivastava, Bhaavya? Are you here? This is the last time I am calling your name before I move on to the next student!" Professor McGonagall said, shrilly.

Bhaavya blushed and made her way over to the stool, placing the sorting hat on her head.

"Hmmmm…" she heard a voice say, "You are definitely meant to be in… Ravenclaw!" The hat shouted the last word, and Bhaavya removed the hat and went towards the loudly cheering table, the second from the left. Juhee stood up and high-fived Bhaavya, congratulating her. Bhaavya took the seat next to Juhee's, and they started whispering to each other. The man at the center of the head table introduced himself as the headmaster, Professor Dumbledore, and then the feast began, a ton of food appeared, all over the table. Bhaavya helped herself to some food, and beside her, Juhee took some of everything and then began to dig in.

"Isn't this great?" Juhee said between mouthfuls, "The house-elves prepare all this food." This prompted Bhaavya to think of Wing-Mei.

"They have to make all of this?" Bhaavya questioned, gesturing to the huge amount of food surrounding them.

"Well, yeah, but there are a lot of them, and I'm sure they use magic," Juhee replied. They finished up dinner in silence, and soon the students were dismissed from dinner by Professor Dumbledore. Juhee rose to her feet, "Ravenclaw first years, please follow me to dormitory!" She left, with the approximately ten first years, including Bhaavya, following her out of the Great Hall.


	5. Common Room Adventures

Common Room Adventures

Bhaavya, along with a large group of eleven year-olds, followed Juhee, their guide and Ravenclaw prefect, through the Hogwarts corridors. The first years were largely engrossed by the school's décor and all around magnificence, and Juhee took some time to explain many of the sights throughout Hogwarts.

"The portraits can move and talk," Juhee pointed at a picture of a small knight, decked in full armor, who looked indignant as she passed by without any further acknowledgement.

"These here portraits have feelings as well!" the knight spouted, sulkily. This caught the attention of the first years, especially those who had grown up in a non-wizarding home and had never seen a magical portrait.

"Whoa!" a young brown-haired boy shouted, "It really does talk!"

"That's exactly what I'm saying!" the knight frowned, "You knavish wizards treat us noble portraits as mere objects!" He was mounted atop a chubby pony, looking like he had stepped out of medieval times.

"Sir Cadogan," Juhee smirked, "although I enjoy your company a lot, I'm a prefect now, and I have to show the first years to the dormitory." She started to leave, beckoning for the younger students to follow, but they were still looking at the knight in awe.

"Oh, a prefect you say!" Sir Cadogan shouted, "I shall forgive the injustice you have done upon me if you allow me to assist in your noble quest!"

He looked especially giddy at this, and Bhaavya almost felt bad for the knight until she remembered that he was just the subject of a portrait. Bhaavya turned around to see Juhee's response to Sir Cadogan, but she was no longer anywhere in Bhaavya's sight. It seemed as though Juhee had led the other Ravenclaw first years to the dormitory while Sir Cadogan had been off on his tangent. The talking portrait had enthralled Bhaavya, and she had not been paying attention to the other students. As she watched the last pair of first year feet disappear around the corner, Bhaavya realized that she had been frozen in place. Rushing off towards where the others had gone, Bhaavya bounded around the corner at the end of the hall to find an empty corridor.

"Oh no!" The reality of the situation hit Bhaavya at full force. Stranded in an empty corridor in a humungous castle of a school, Bhaavya had no idea how she could ever find the Ravenclaw dormitory.

"Never fear, young maiden!" A gallant voice was heard from behind Bhaavya. A pony galloped into the foreground of a painting as an out of breath Sir Cadogan panted his way behind the steed. "This is a splendid quest for a fair lady such as you, and I shall be obliged to guide the way to the dormitory!" By now, Sir Cadogan had remounted his chubby pony, with assistance from a young wizard from another painting.

"Onwards!" Sir Cadogan declared exuberantly, and Bhaavya followed the knight through the castle. After passing through many corridors and climbing up many magical staircases, the two of them had ascended to the top of Ravenclaw tower. Before them, there stood a magnificent door with a bronze eagle shaped knocker, but no door knob.

"Here you are, my dear," Sir Cadogan pointed at the door, "We have completed our virtuous quest!" The knight extended his sword up above himself proudly. "Our goal is upon us!"

Confounded, Bhaavya scratched the back of her neck. "There is no handle to open the door…" She trailed off, not seeing how she could get into the Ravenclaw common room.

"Noble Ravenclaws are known for their ingenuity! Gentle maiden, the knocker."

Making her way over to the door, Bhaavya gave two curt knocks using the brass knocker. After meeting a house-elf and seeing the sorting hat, Bhaavya was less surprised to see the eagle knocker spring to life. Bhaavya heard a riddle emanating from the knocker and listened closely.

"What is black and yellow and red all over?" Bhaavya asked herself, pondering the possible meanings behind the riddle. Sir Cadogan watched on impatiently, yearning to move on to yet another noble expedition, but never willing to leave a young damsel in distress. After over five minutes of pondering, Sir Cadogen was suspiciously eyeing the young girl.

"What knavish trickery is this, foolish maiden? A true Ravenclaw would be able to answer this riddle!"

"Trust me! I am a Ravenclaw! Look at my house crest." She pointed to the Ravenclaw crest on the breast of her robe.

Sir Cadogan nodded, "I understand. You gentle lady, nervous that you are, unable to answer the riddle. Luckily, noble Sir Cadogan is here to provide support! The knob asks not what is black, yellow, and red, but what is black, yellow, and read!"

Bhaavya blinked at Sir Cadogan, uncomprehendingly. "You just said the same thing twice!"

"The answer that the eagle knob looks for is the Daily Prophet!" The door to the Ravenclaw common room swung open at once after the correct answer was spoken, but Bhaavya needed to understand the answer to the riddle before she felt worthy enough to enter.

"What are you talking about?"

"Why, the Daily Prophet is the wizarding newspaper, kind lady. Black ink printed on yellow parchment. And all wizards read it! Now, Sir Cadogan's bravery is nearly matched by his cleverness! Perchance, could I be inducted into the admirable house of Ravenclaw?"

Bhaavya giggled, "I'm sure that you would have been, had you been a student here!"

"I shall take my leave now, but I have found you to be a noteworthy questing mate." Sir Cadogan bowed to Bhaavya chivalrously, "I hope we can unite for many a quest in the future!"

Nodding, Bhaavya finally entered the Ravenclaw common room to find several of her fellow first year students staring at her.

"Why were you talking to that knight? He's a nutter!" A black-haired kid shouted, introducing himself as Michael Corner, "There's a reason that that prefect girl ditched him!"

"Well, he did help me find my-"

"What took you so long anyway? Did you get lost, or could you not solve the riddle?" Michael snickered as Bhaavya's cheeks reddened deeply.

"Hey, Michael, bugger off and stop being such a jerk!" One of the other first year boys gave Michael a shove, "I apologize for that! Michael can be a bit rude sometimes. I'm Terry Boot." He extended his hand to Bhaavya for a handshake. "I didn't catch your name." Looking at Bhaavya questioningly, Terry smiled shyly. Bhaavya recognized him as the young brown-haired boy from earlier. With his short, messy brown hair and big blue eyes, Terry still had the cute little boy look that his young age graced him with.

"Bhaavya," She replied, accepting the handshake.

"I don't know any of the female first years that you will be bunking with, but Michael has been crushing on this second year girl for the past fifteen minutes. I met her and she seems really nice, so she obviously has no interest in him." Terry glanced over at Bhaavya, who seemed to be listening to him intently, "I just thought that you would want to have a girl to talk to." They made their way over to where two Asian girls were standing and conversing.

"That's nice of you."

Reassured that he was not coming across as creepy, Terry kept leading her towards the two girls. Bhaavya immediately recognized one as Juhee, and was unsurprised when Terry pointed her out, saying, "That, of course, is our prefect, and the other one is Cho Chang." Cho was younger than Juhee, but not much shorter. Long black hair framed her face, and her dark eyes were full of laughter as she spoke to Juhee. Terry continued his commentary, "From what I've learned so far, Juhee is our Quidditch team's seeker, a coveted position. First years are not allowed to try out, but Cho is now a second year. I was talking to her during the feast, and she is nuts about Quidditch. She definitely wants to be seeker, but that position is filled right now. Cho will probably try out for another position for now. I guess she'll have to wait until Juhee graduates to be seeker."

"And they're friends?" Bhaavya questioned, "Even though Cho wants to be seeker so badly?"

"Well, they talk to each other at least. It's a friendly rivalry," Terry eyed the two chatting girls suspiciously, "At least I think it's friendly…"

"Hi Bhaavya!" Juhee shouted excitedly, as she noticed the two newcomers for the first time.

Terry jumped, startled by Juhee's loud greeting. "Oh hi. We were just talking about classes starting tomorrow… heh heh."

Juhee gave him an odd look, but shook it off after a moment, "Bhaavya, I don't think you have met Cho yet! She's nice. Second year. She likes Quidditch too."

"Hello, Bhaavya!" Cho greeted, affably, "It's nice to meet you!"

"Hello. Hogwarts sure is large. My old school was much smaller, but there were many more kids."

"Oh. That's terrible. I would think that more students would mean a larger school. You have an interesting accent though. Where are you from?" Cho asked.

"India, but I have recently spent two years in the U.S."

"Cool, but you can tell us about it later," Juhee hushed them, "It is time for bed. Classes start tomorrow, and these first years have no idea what is in store for them!"


End file.
